The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-10-20
VETOED PENSION BILLS.
HAVE WORTHY VETERANS BEEN
MISLED7
A Complete Resume of the Relief Meas
ures DisaPproved by the President
and the Reasons Therefor.


criticise him in regard to the exact nature Of
these vetoes. That the president vetoed bills
blindly and from prejudice is so easily dis
proved by analysis of the list, that it is
remarkable illustration Of ignorance, coupled
with rashness beyond parallel, on the part
of the claim-agents, pension-grabbers and
their clique.
President Cleveland vetoed 125 pension |
bills, 124 being private bills and the other the
dependent pension bill. The latter is not
necessary to discuss, as it has already been
shown that it was not a measure for the
benefit of the real soldier. The private bills
vetoed and the reasons for their disapproval
can be readily classified.
Of the 124 vetoed, II Cclass Az were meri-
torious and the claimants entitled to pensions.
Why, then, were they vetoed? Because an
aRfroaal 7ooHld haze operated TO tie diSad0ant-
age Of tile beneficiary BY dtzri0ing him Of tie
6eneft aee,uing from Tie arrears act. In other
words, an approval by the president of a bill
coming from Congress would have prevented
action by the pension Office in each of these
twelve cases where the applicant had claim
pending before the office. Thus, if John
Smith were put on the pension rolls by act of
Congress and approval of the president, his
pension would begin from the date of the
signing of the bill, say January Is, 1887
Now, if that same soldier was at the time a
claimant before the pension Office, and his
claim was allowed, he would receive arrear-
ages from the date when the disability de-
veloped, which might have been ten years be-
fore. In fact one of the twelve vetoes alluded
to was that of bill for the relief of William
Dickens. Had the president signed the bill,
Dickens would have been deprived of arrear
ages accruing since October 10, 1864, period
covering % years. These IL vetoes secured
to the benefciaries in the aggregate about
$15,6s4 more than they could have re-
ceived under the special acts vetoed, In
every case a certificate was actually is
sued or about to be issued when the vetoes
were sent in.
The next class, B, contains only three
vetoes, and these were based on the ground
that desertion and dishonorable discharge
stained the military record of the soldier.
injustice to soldiers who would not be
eligible to membership in its own ranks.
Class c includes but two cases. One Of
these was an act to relieve father alleged to
have been left dependent by the death of his
son in the army. Singularly enough the
claimants name in this case is TuttlJ, and he
appears to be of the same stamp as the Tut
tie of recent notriety, for it was proved that
he abandoned his son while the latter was a
minor and before he entered the military
service at all. The second case under this
class is similar to Tuttle's, the alleged de-
pendent father having abandoned his family
in 1859, two years before the war.
Class D includes nearly one-third of TIE
entire number of vetoes; 35 coming within
this classification. With two exceptions
that of an alleged dependent father and {
step-mother, the list includes the claims o
widows. These were vetoed on the GROUND
that there was no necessary connection be.
tween the death of the soldier and his
military service, and, in some eases, an en-
tire conceded absence of any proof or pre-
sumption, however weak, of any such con
nection. One applicant admits that prior tC
her marriage with the soldier she had married
another, whom she could only say she be
soldier committed suicide, act which Ger
tainly could not have been the result o
military service.
A single instance comes under the head o
Class E. In this case the president declined
: to set aside, without sufficient cause, tn
limitation fixed by the law of 1875 govern
ing arrears. The soldier aIread
reeeto1ng a pension of $50 month, and .
zvonld be hard to figure ont 7rhat hardship Il
suffered b. tie veto. 1t sample cas-
out of hundreds where soldiers receiving
high rate have joined in the grab game a
the treasury surplus.
Under the head of class F will be foun
seven cases. This number of special bill
: was rejected by tie president tie strength Q
ez1aenee in possession Of tie pension bureau tia
tie disability 7oas not incurred in tie line 9
dnty All these cases had once been befor
the pension Office and rejected. Each ha'
been appealed and acted upon by the secre
: tary of the interior, and the action of tn
), pension Office sustained. To have signet
n these bills in the face of these facts woul
have been, on the part of the president, t
: have winked at fraud on the government
S The solitary case embraced by Glass
e was the remarkable one where a pension wa
e asked on account of disability through sor
u eyes, the affliction being attributed to chroni
n diarrhna contracted in the service. 1t wa